Social media management software · 12 alternatives

Sprout Social alternatives: 12 compared

By Sebastiaan Smits · Published October 8, 2026 · Updated October 8, 2026

Teams look past Sprout Social when per-seat prices multiply across a team, when listening and premium analytics are sold as add-ons, or when an annual renewal carries an automatic increase. Most go to Hootsuite or Agorapulse for a comparable suite, Sendible or Vista Social for agencies, and Buffer or Metricool for lower cost.

Short answer: The closest replacements for Sprout Social in our social media management software ranking are Hootsuite, Agorapulse and Sendible. Choose Hootsuite if you want a full suite with a similar per-user structure and a different interface. All 12 alternatives below are ranked products from Best Social Media Management Software in 2026, and each says where it differs from Sprout Social and when Sprout Social is still the better choice.

Visibility in our rankings can be paid for. Payment moves a vendor's position within the shortlist; it never adds a vendor, and it never changes a word of the review or of this page. How it works: placement disclosure · editorial process.

Sprout Social at a glance

Headquarters: United States
Pricing model: Per seat / month
Pricing: Per seat per month on published tiers, from $79 for a five-profile Essentials plan to $399 for Advanced on annual billing, with listening, premium analytics and employee advocacy sold as add-ons.
Free option: Free trial
Built for: Mid-market marketing and care teams
Wrong for: Small teams mainly scheduling posts, or agencies with thin margins per client, pay for depth they will not use. Agorapulse covers most of the same ground for less.
Place in our ranking: #4 of 16
Website: sproutsocial.com

Facts from our social media management software ranking, last checked October 8, 2026.

Why buyers look past Sprout Social

Every plan is priced per seat

Sprout lists Essentials at $79, Standard at $199, Professional at $299 and Advanced at $399 per seat a month on annual billing. Monthly billing is higher, at $99, $249, $399 and $499. A five-person team multiplies those figures by five before any add-on.
Insight modules are sold separately

Premium Analytics, Listening, Employee Advocacy and Professional Services are add-ons available from the Standard plan up. Standard and Essentials connect five social profiles, and unlimited profiles begin on Professional. Teams that need listening or deeper reports pay for each layer.
Renewal is automatic and can rise

Under the terms of service, annual plans renew automatically and Sprout may raise fees by up to 7% at renewal unless it gives 60 days' notice of a different price. Cancelling mid-term brings no refund of prepaid fees. Buyers who value flexibility compare month-to-month tools.

12 alternatives at a glance

Closest replacement first. The last column is our place in the full 16-product ranking.

#	Alternative	Headquarters	Pricing	Key difference	Switch if	Our rank
1	Hootsuite	Canada	Per user / month; free trial	Long-established social dashboard with listening and integrations	you want a full suite with a similar per-user structure and a different interface	#5
2	Agorapulse	France	Per user / month; free trial	Publishing, shared inbox and reporting for teams and agencies	you want a comparable inbox and reporting suite at a lower entry price per user	#1
3	Sendible	United Kingdom	Per profile bundle / month; free trial	Agency social tool with white-label and client approvals	you are an agency whose client or team count makes per-seat pricing costly	#6
4	Vista Social	United States	Per profile bundle / month; free trial	Scheduling, inbox and review management for agencies	you want listening and advocacy priced as small add-ons beside a profile-based plan	#13
5	Buffer	United States	Per channel / month; free plan	Straightforward post scheduler billed per connected channel	publishing is your main job and you want to pay per channel	#2
6	Metricool	Spain	Per brand / month; free plan	Scheduling and analytics priced by brand, with a free tier	you manage several small brands and want a free or very low entry price	#3
7	SocialPilot	India	Per account bundle / month; free trial	Budget scheduler with client management for agencies	you want tiered account bundles with client approval at a fraction of seat pricing	#7
8	Loomly	United States	Per account bundle / month; free trial	Content calendar with approvals and post previews	approval workflows and a content calendar matter more than inbox or listening depth	#11
9	Later	United States	Per social set / month; free trial	Visual planner built around Instagram and TikTok	your work is Instagram and TikTok-led and you want visual planning	#8
10	Iconosquare	France	Per profile bundle / month; free plan	Social analytics and scheduling, born on Instagram	reporting on a handful of profiles matters most and you want a low entry price	#14
11	Sprinklr Social	United States	Quote only; none	Enterprise customer experience platform with social management	you run social care across many regions and need an enterprise contract	#12
12	Brandwatch	United Kingdom	Quote only; none	Consumer intelligence and social suite from Cision	social listening and consumer research outweigh scheduling and inbox needs	#15

What each alternative does differently

1. Hootsuite

Long-established social dashboard with listening and integrations · Canada

The nearest suite-for-suite rival, priced per user: Standard $99, Professional $199, Advanced $399 on annual billing. Standard covers 10 accounts, Professional unlimited accounts, and approvals begin on Advanced. Listening and employee advocacy sit in separate products of the Hootsuite suite.

Switch from Sprout Social if you want a full suite with a similar per-user structure and a different interface.

Pricing: Per user per month on published tiers, Standard $99, Professional $199 and Advanced $399 on annual billing, no free plan; approvals start on Advanced and Talkwalker listening is Enterprise only. (free trial)

Full review: #5 of 16 in our ranking · Visit Hootsuite →

2. Agorapulse

Publishing, shared inbox and reporting for teams and agencies · France

Per-user plans at $79 Standard, $119 Professional and $149 Advanced on annual billing. Standard already has one inbox and unlimited posts, and Advanced adds labels, moderation rules and ROI reporting. Unlimited profiles, SSO and multi-step approvals are on the quoted Custom plan only.

Switch from Sprout Social if you want a comparable inbox and reporting suite at a lower entry price per user.

Pricing: Per user per month on published tiers, entry tier under $100 per user billed annually, each plan capped at a set number of social profiles. (free trial)

Full review: #1 of 16 in our ranking · Visit Agorapulse →

3. Sendible

Agency social tool with white-label and client approvals · United Kingdom

Pricing by workspace, not by seat: each workspace carries six social profiles and every plan includes unlimited users. Plans run Core, Plus, Premium, Elite and Enterprise, and white label is an extra on the top two. Built for agencies that add clients as separate workspaces.

Switch from Sprout Social if you are an agency whose client or team count makes per-seat pricing costly.

Pricing: Tiered monthly plans defined by workspaces of six social profiles each, with unlimited users on every plan, approvals from the Plus tier and white-label sold as a paid add-on on Elite and Enterprise. (free trial)

Full review: #6 of 16 in our ranking · Visit Sendible →

5. Buffer

Straightforward post scheduler billed per connected channel · United States

Priced per connected channel, not per seat. Essentials is $5 a month per channel and Team $10, with a free plan for three channels. Team adds unlimited members and content approval, Essentials has one user. It does not offer Sprout's listening or deep reporting, so it suits publishing-first teams.

Switch from Sprout Social if publishing is your main job and you want to pay per channel.

Pricing: Priced per connected channel on published tiers with an entry paid plan in the single digits of dollars per channel monthly, plus a free plan for up to three channels. (free plan)

Full review: #2 of 16 in our ranking · Visit Buffer →

6. Metricool

Scheduling and analytics priced by brand, with a free tier · Spain

Plans are sized by number of brands. A free plan manages one brand with 20 posts a month, Starter covers up to 10 brands from €16 a month, and Advanced adds team and client management with post approval from €43. Reports can be built from templates and sent to Data Studio.

Switch from Sprout Social if you manage several small brands and want a free or very low entry price.

Pricing: Tiered plans priced by number of brands, with a low entry paid tier and a permanent free plan for a single brand. (free plan)

Full review: #3 of 16 in our ranking · Visit Metricool →

7. SocialPilot

Budget scheduler with client management for agencies · India

Bundle pricing by accounts and users: Essentials $17 a month annual for 5 accounts and one user, Standard $34 for 10 accounts and three users, Premium $85 for 20 accounts and six users. Client approval and white-label reports start on Premium. Extra accounts cost $4 each.

Switch from Sprout Social if you want tiered account bundles with client approval at a fraction of seat pricing.

Pricing: Tiered monthly plans priced by number of accounts and users, with low entry pricing and a free trial. (free trial)

Full review: #7 of 16 in our ranking · Visit SocialPilot →

8. Loomly

Content calendar with approvals and post previews · United States

A content-calendar tool with approval workflows from the entry tier. Starter has 12 social accounts and three users at $49 a month billed yearly, while Beyond has 60 accounts and unlimited users at $249. There is a large jump between tiers, and Starter already lists approval workflows and roles.

Switch from Sprout Social if approval workflows and a content calendar matter more than inbox or listening depth.

Pricing: Published tiers priced by social accounts and users, entry plan under $50 per month billed annually with a steep jump to the next tier, free trial. (free trial)

Full review: #11 of 16 in our ranking · Visit Loomly →

9. Later

Visual planner built around Instagram and TikTok · United States

Visual-first and priced by social sets (one profile per network). Starter is $18.75 a month yearly for one set and one user, Growth $37.50 for two sets and two users with inbox and approvals, and Scale $82.50 for six sets. Extra users are $3.75 each. Influencer marketing is separate.

Switch from Sprout Social if your work is Instagram and TikTok-led and you want visual planning.

Pricing: Tiered monthly plans with published prices, defined by social sets and users; influencer marketing is sold separately. (free trial)

Full review: #8 of 16 in our ranking · Visit Later →

10. Iconosquare

Social analytics and scheduling, born on Instagram · France

Analytics-led, with a free plan for two profiles and ten posts a month per profile. Paid plans begin at €9 a month on yearly billing for three profiles, and the inbox and automated reports arrive on Launch from €33. Scale from €69 covers 20 profiles and three users. Fewer team workflows than Sprout.

Switch from Sprout Social if reporting on a handful of profiles matters most and you want a low entry price.

Pricing: A free plan for two profiles and ten posts a month per profile, then published plans from €9 a month on annual billing for three profiles, priced by profiles and users, with a 14-day trial. (free plan)

Full review: #14 of 16 in our ranking · Visit Iconosquare →

11. Sprinklr Social

Enterprise customer experience platform with social management · United States

An enterprise customer-experience platform where social is one product beside Service, Insights and Marketing. The product page lists no prices and routes to a demo, so budget through a sales process. It suits very large organizations running social care across many markets, not a small team.

Switch from Sprout Social if you run social care across many regions and need an enterprise contract.

Pricing: Quote-only annual contracts, typically with implementation fees and minimum commitments. (none)

Full review: #12 of 16 in our ranking · Visit Sprinklr Social →

12. Brandwatch

Consumer intelligence and social suite from Cision · United Kingdom

Starts from listening: its social media management product is one of five in a suite with consumer intelligence, search intelligence, influencer marketing and media intelligence. No price is published and the site refers to Cision. Choose it when research and data coverage matter more than scheduling.

Switch from Sprout Social if social listening and consumer research outweigh scheduling and inbox needs.

Pricing: Quote only; annual contracts priced by modules (listening, publishing, engagement) and data volume. (none)

Full review: #15 of 16 in our ranking · Visit Brandwatch →

When Sprout Social is still the right choice

Sprout Social remains the right choice for a mid-sized team that wants publishing, a smart inbox, reports and review management in one product. Advanced adds sentiment, an API, helpdesk integrations and team productivity reports. If seats stay few and you use the add-ons, the per-seat price is easier to defend.

What to expect when you switch from Sprout Social

Export reports before the end date

Reports export as CSV or as a presentation-ready PDF, and the CSV is limited to 50 columns. Sprout's support pages say that after cancellation posts, reports, files and profiles are deactivated and data collection stops. Save the history you need first.
Time the cancellation to the billing terms

On annual payment, cancel through the billing page before the next Annual Pay Date, and only the Account Owner can do it. If an annual plan is paid monthly, the terms require at least 30 days' written notice by email. No refunds are issued either way.
Reconnect profiles in the new tool

Each social profile is linked through the network's own authorization. Connect them in the new platform first, run both tools for a few days, then revoke Sprout's access on each network. Sprout has a support article on revoking access on native networks.

Questions and answers

Can I cancel Sprout Social mid-term?

Yes, but access continues only until the end of the term and prepaid fees are not refunded. The terms say a cancelled annual plan runs until the next Annual Pay Date. Only the current Account Owner can cancel, through the billing page.

How much can Sprout Social raise the price at renewal?

Up to 7% over the previous term's fees, unless Sprout gives at least 60 days' notice of different pricing before the Annual Pay Date. The terms of service state this for annual plans. Check your order form if you signed a service order.

What notice does Sprout Social need if I pay monthly on an annual plan?

At least 30 days before the end of the current term, by email to your customer success manager or successteam@sproutsocial.com. Without it the term renews automatically for another year, and the terms bar refunds for unused prepaid fees.

How do I export my data from Sprout Social?

Reports can be downloaded as CSV, up to 50 columns, or as a PDF from the report's Share menu. Professional and Advanced plans can send a PDF to up to 25 recipients. Sprout's pages describe report exports rather than a full account archive.

Which Sprout Social plan has unlimited profiles?

Professional. Essentials and Standard each connect five social profiles, and Professional and Advanced list unlimited profiles. Advanced adds the Sprout API, helpdesk integrations and sentiment in the Smart Inbox.

What happens to my posts and reports when I cancel Sprout Social?

They are deactivated. Sprout's support documentation says that once an account is cancelled all posts, reports, files and profiles are deactivated, scheduled posts stop publishing and data is no longer collected. Export first.

Sources

Prices, plan limits and product facts about Sprout Social on this page were checked against the vendors' own pages on October 8, 2026. Vendors change both without notice, so treat the figures as of that date.

Sprout Social pricing: Plan prices annual and monthly, profile limits, add-ons, plan features.
Sprout Social terms of service: Auto-renewal, 7% increase cap, cancellation and 30-day notice rules, no refunds.
Sprout Social contact page: Chicago headquarters.
Sprout Social support: how to cancel (vendor domain, via search listing): Cancellation steps and deactivation of data after cancelling.
Sprout Social support: scheduling report PDFs (vendor domain, via search listing): CSV and PDF report export, 25-recipient PDF sending.
Hootsuite plans: Standard, Professional, Advanced prices, account limits, approvals.
Agorapulse pricing: Per-user plan prices and features, Custom plan contents.
Sendible pricing: Workspaces of six profiles, unlimited users, white-label add-on.
Vista Social pricing: Profile and user tiers, listening and advocacy prices.
Buffer pricing: Per-channel prices, free plan, Team plan features.
Metricool pricing: Brand-based plans, free plan, Advanced features.
SocialPilot pricing: Account and user bundles, extra account and user prices.
Loomly pricing: Starter and Beyond limits and prices, approvals.
Later pricing: Social sets, prices, extra user cost.
Iconosquare pricing: Free plan, paid plan prices and limits.
Sprinklr Social: Social as one product in a wider suite, demo-led sales.
Brandwatch products: Social media management inside a five-product suite.

Who wrote this

Sebastiaan Smits, Founder, wrote, edited and fact-checked this page. Founder of The Interregnum and of 2 Steps Ahead, an AI search visibility agency. Writes, edits and fact-checks every page here. Last reviewed October 8, 2026. How we review.